Understanding Expense Policy Configuration

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to explain the fundamental concepts of policies and their impact a report in Concur Expense Profession Edition

Expense Policies

In Concur Expense, a policy defines how expense reports are created, submitted, and approved. A policy brings together the configuration elements that directly affect the user’s expense report experience.​

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To access Policies, select Policies from the left menu panel under Expense Admin.

Screenshot showing the “Policies” section. Left sidebar lists accounting administration options with “Policies” highlighted. Main panel displays a table of expense policies with buttons “Copy Policy,” “Modify,” and “Remove,” and columns for Policy Name, Editable By (mostly “Global”), and Applies To (various countries such as Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Poland, United Kingdom, and United States).

Policies are assigned to user groups, enabling tailored expense management based on roles, locations, or departments. A single policy can be assigned to multiple groups to promote consistency. If more than one policy is assigned to a group, one policy must be set as the default to simplify the user experience.​

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Review the following image to learn about the primary components controlled by Policies.​

Image titled “Expense Policies control the:” followed by three blue callouts listing “Information users must enter,” “Types of expenses that can be claimed,” and “Approval process for reviewing expenses.”

There is no limit to the number of policies that can be created within an implementation. However, it’s recommended to design policies that are easy to manage while still providing the flexibility and control needed to meet the company’s business and compliance requirements.

Note

The Global Template includes a foundational expense policy and standard expense types for many countries worldwide. Do not modify the Global Expense Policy or the Global Template Policy. These policies are provided as copy only and should be used as the starting point for creating customer-specific policies.​

Three key drivers typically determine when a new policy is needed: data entry requirements, expense types, and approval processes.

Data Entry Requirements (Forms and Fields)

Policies define what information users must enter on an expense report, including required fields and specific forms.​

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Forms are the containers used to capture expense data in different areas of the system. Each expense report is made up of three main forms:

  • Header form: captures report‑level information​

  • Entry forms: linked to expense types and used to enter expense details​

  • Allocation form: used to distribute expenses across cost objects​

Expense Types

Policies define which expense types are available to users. This provides a consistent structure for categorizing, tracking, and managing expenses.​

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An expense type can be assigned to multiple policies, allowing flexibility in how expenses are managed across different user groups.​

Approval Process (Workflows)

Policies determine how expense reports are routed for review and approval. Approval workflows ensure expenses are reviewed and approved by the appropriate individuals.​

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An expense report workflow can be assigned to multiple policies, supporting consistent approval routing across the organization.

Expense Policy Configuration Fields

Review the key terms and definitions below to learn about the available expense policy configuration fields.

Printed Reports
Policies allow for different printable reports.
Expense Detail View
Provides a customizable view that displays more details in the expense list than just the basic standard fields (Transaction Date, Vendor, Business Purpose, etc). For example, if a user must select a project code for every expense, you can configure the Expense Detail View to include the project code in the list of expenses on an expense report.
Missing Receipt Affidavit
Allows a user to submit an electronic affidavit instead of receipt images, with different messaging available per affidavit per policy. This accommodates legal verbiage based on affidavits that are specific per business unit or country.
Travel Reservation Mapping
Allows the administrator to map different expense types to each travel segment per policy. For example, you could map the Airfare travel segment to the Airfare expense type in one policy and Air Travel in another policy.
Folio Type Mapping
Allows the customer to map different expense types to each folio category per policy. This means that Hotel e-receipts can be automatically itemized differently for each policy.
Flight Fee Finder
Allows the administrator to set different flight fee options for each policy. For example, you can set different threshold amounts and currencies for each policy, especially if you have one policy per country. It also allows for different expense types to capture those fees for each policy.
Fringe Benefits Tax
Allows you to activate Fringe Benefits Tax for only the policies that require it.
Scanning and Imaging Configurations
Scanning Configuration allows you to activate different alerts and other settings related to the scanning of the Receipt Report. Imaging Configuration allows you to enable different options that are available when a user attaches receipt images.
Room rate and tax options
Allows administrators to set different options for whether room rate and taxes are combined during the hotel itemization process. Be aware that although the UI might look the same, this setting has direct implications on how hotel expenses appear in the Standard Accounting Extract and reporting tools. For example, you can decide whether to send separate rows for the room and rate expenses or a single row for the combined room and rate amount.
Use Balance Carry Forward
Provides different options for how the system handles money that’s owed to the company by an employee based on personal use of the corporate card or cash advances. This isn’t a widely used feature and only applies to companies with Company Billed/Company Paid corporate cards. When enabled, the balances owed back to the company by an employee are generated and tracked by the system back-end and users or administrators cannot monitor or control them in the UI.

Create an Expense Policy

Review the steps below to learn how to create an expense policy.

Steps

  1. On the Policies page in Expense Admin, select the appropriate policy (on which you will base your new policy), and then select Copy Policy.

    Screenshot of the Expense Admin ‘Policies’ page showing a list of policy names with columns for Editable By and Applies To; the toolbar includes Copy Policy, Modify, and Remove buttons, and the selected row highlights a global template policy.

  2. Modify the new policy General step settings as needed. Select Next.

    Two overlapping screenshots of the ‘New Policy’ setup page: the left screen shows the General tab with multiple dropdown configuration fields (e.g., report form, workflow, scan/imaging, allocation, and locale), and the right screen shows additional General settings with checkboxes, dropdowns, and receipt/attestation text fields, plus Cancel and Done buttons.

  3. Modify the Expense Types for Policy step settings as needed. Select the appropriate expense types, and then select Activate or Deactivate to change the policy status. Select Next.

    Screenshot of the ‘New Policy’ page on the ‘Expense Types for Policy’ tab, showing Activate/Deactivate buttons, a table listing expense types with columns for Policy Status and Expense Entry Form, and top-right buttons for Preview Form, Modify Properties, Travel Reservation Type Mapping, Folio Type Mapping, Vendor List, and Exclude Attendee Types; Previous and Next buttons appear at the bottom.

    Note

    This information is copied directly from the policy that you selected as the base for this new policy, so you might not need to modify it. ​

  4. In the Print Formats step, select the appropriate print format, and then select Activate or Deactivate as necessary. Select the arrows in the Display Order column to reorder the way the print options appear to the employee when a user selects Print in the expense report, and then select Done.

    Screenshot of a ‘New Policy’ page showing a table of print formats with an ‘Active’ status column and a ‘Display Order’ up/down arrow control; ‘Activate’ and ‘Deactivate’ buttons appear at the top left, and ‘Done’ is in the bottom right.

Result

The new expense policy appears on the Policies page.

Modify an Expense Policy

Review the steps below to learn how to modify an expense policy.

Steps

  1. From the Policies page, select the appropriate policy, and then select the Modify button.

    Screenshot of the ‘Policies’ admin page with Copy Policy and Modify buttons at the top; a table lists policy names with Editable By and Applies To columns, and one policy row is highlighted/selected.

  2. Replace the configuration components as needed and then select the Save button.

    Screenshot of the ‘Modify Policy: *FAS US Expense Policy’ page on the General tab, showing a form with fields for policy name, expense report form, workflow, scan/imaging settings, allocation options, and editable-by setting, with Cancel and Save buttons at the bottom right.

Result

The modified expense policy appears on the Policies page.

Activate or Deactivate Expense Types

Review the steps below to learn how to activate and deactivate expense types.​

Steps

  1. From the Policies page, select the appropriate policy, and then select the Expense Types button.

    Image of the SAP Policies screen showing a list of expense policies with “FAS US Expense Policy” selected and buttons for Copy Policy, Modify, and Remove.

  2. Select the appropriate expense types, and then select Activate or Deactivate to change the policy status.

    Image of the SAP Modify Policy screen for “FAS US Expense Policy” showing expense types with policy status and expense entry form settings, plus buttons for Activate/Deactivate and mappings.

  3. Once an Expense Type is activated, select the Modify Properties button to update the entry form, vendor lists and attendee settings. Select the Save button.

    Image of the SAP Expense Policy screen with the Modify Expense Type Properties dialog open, highlighting the Expense Entry Form setting and the Save button.

  4. Select the Done button.

    Image of the SAP Modify Policy screen for “FAS US Expense Policy” highlighting the Done button.

Result

The expense type is deactivated, or the expense type is activated and modified.​

Activate or Deactivate Print Formats

Review the steps below to learn how to activate and deactivate print formats.​

Steps

  1. From the Policies page, select the appropriate policy, and then select the Print Formats button.

    Image of the“Policies” page showing a policy list table with columns for policy name, editable by, and applies to; the “FAS US Expense Policy” row is highlighted, and a “Print Formats” button appears in the top-right.

  2. Select the appropriate format, and then select Activate or Deactivate to change the policy status. Select the Done button.

    Image of the “Modify Policy: *FAS US Expense Policy” screen showing a list of print formats with Active/Inactive status, with “Report - Detailed with Barcode” highlighted and “Attachments” and “Done” buttons visible.

Result

The print format list updates accordingly.​

Summary

  • Policies control expense report behavior through data entry requirements, approval processes,and expense types. ​
  • Policies are assigned to groups, and a single policy can be assigned to multiple groups. ​
  • A group can have multiple policies assigned, with one designated as the default.​
  • Expense report workflows and expense types can be assigned to multiple policies. ​
  • Always use the global template as the starting point for configuration​.

Reference

TopicLink
PoliciesSAP Help Portal

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